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  <p>The animal on the cover of <em>Programming Bitcoin</em> is a honey badger (<em>Mellivora capensis</em>), also known as a ratel. This mammal, despite its name, resembles a weasel or polecat more than a badger. It is found throughout Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Southwest Asia. The honey badger is carnivorous, and has few predators because of its incredibly fierce nature when defending itself.</p>
  
  <p>This animal gets its common name from its habit of raiding beehives to eat its favored food of honey (and bee larvae); it has a thick hide that minimizes the effect of bee stings. Honey badgers have a very diverse diet, however, which also includes snakes (including the venomous variety), rodents, insects, frogs, eggs, birds, fruit, roots, and plant bulbs. The honey badger has been seen chasing young lions away from kills, and is one of the few species to have been observed using tools.</p>
  
  <p>The honey badger is a sturdy animal with a long body, a broad back, and a small flat head. Its legs are short and its feet are tipped with strong claws that make it an exceptional digger. The badger digs not only to unearth prey, but also to create a burrow for itself (around 3–10 feet long, on average). It has a gland at the base of its tail filled with a smelly secretion used to mark territory and warn away other animals. The skin at the back of the badger's neck is loose, which allows it to twist around and bite when it is being held.</p>
  
  <p>The honey badger was the subject of a viral video in 2011, featuring comical narration over National Geographic footage of the animal's fearless behavior. </p>

  <p>Many of the animals on O'Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world. To learn more about how you can help, go to <a href="http://animals.oreilly.com"><em>animals.oreilly.com</em></a>.</p>

  <p>The cover illustration is by Karen Montgomery, based on a black and white engraving from <em>Natural History of Animals</em>. The cover fonts are Gilroy Semibold and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag's Ubuntu Mono.</p>

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